Prestige Women's Bracelet Yëwaa

Abelam culture, Maprik region, Papua New Guinea
First half of the XXᵉ century

Pearl shell, braided plant fibers, cotton and cowries
Diameter: 8.5 cm

Rare Yëwaa prestige women's bracelet consisting of a circular ring cut from a large mother-of-pearl marine shell with antique patina, enhanced by a wide textile band of braided fibers and cotton, entirely adorned with forty-seven cowrie shells arranged in regular registers.

These ceremonial ornaments played an essential role in the exchange and alliance systems of the Abelam populations of the Maprik region in northern Papua New Guinea. They were mainly used for matrimonial compensations, prestige exchanges and certain ritual or funeral ceremonies.

As part of traditional weddings, the future husband had to offer a set of six Yëwaa rings to the young woman's family. Each ring had a symbolic value linked to the bride's body - limbs, head and torso - materializing the social union between the two lineages.

The manufacture of these objects required highly specialized know-how, held only by certain villages renowned for their mastery of ceremonial arts and prestige coinage.

By its formal balance, the softness of its ancient patina and the graphic richness of its cowrie shell decoration, this example perfectly illustrates the aesthetics of the ceremonial finery of the Abelam peoples of the Sepik.

Price: €1,200

ESTIMATION

Gallery / collector: €800 - €1,500
Specialized gallery presentation / exhibition: €1,800 - €2,200